An Autumnal Sunday Lunch: The Alfred Tennyson

The Sunday roast lunch has always been a particularly Autumnal affair for me. As the weather hits a chill, there are few better places to spend a lazy Sunday afternoon than in a cosy pub. Out of the cold, unbundled from coats, fire roaring, cider in hand, with a plateful of roast deliciousness. Anyone else totally here for this?

In terms of places to while away an Autumnal Sunday afternoon, The Alfred Tennyson’s first floor dining room is a lovely, airy space with welcoming and friendly staff. The pub’s part of the Cubitt House group, who hosted the Nose To Tail Banquet which I LOVED – so we decided to try out a lunch at the Alfred Tennyson.

Because I’m kind of sort of doing half-sober-October (basically, I’m just drinking less…that’ll do) I decided to try out The Alfred Tennyson’s mocktails. The Passion Lyric was almost good enough for me to give up boozy cocktails for good. Almost. A fresh and fruity taste, with pink grapefruit stopping it being overly sweet – the only issue I had was how quickly I drunk it!

For our starters, we definitely went down the British route. Conor ordered a scotch egg from the specials menu that was just ridiculously good. Oozing yolk over rich sausage meat, wrapped in breadcrumbs for the perfect starter. Yum.

And I found my own perfection in the White Park beef croquettes, served with a green peppercorn mayonnaise. The beef was tender and rich, shredded finely and with a crisp outside layer. I’ve had croquettes in the past that have been a little on the dry side – these were the absolute perfect consistency, with a hearty taste and a slight kick provided by the peppercorn mayonnaise.

After a really solid start, the roasts were pretty good too – albeit with a few small downsides.

I chose the roast beef, served with apple sauce; and Conor the lamb, with mint sauce. We were majorly impressed at the size of the plates arriving on our table, a real quality potion. I did struggle towards the end of mine, I have to say.

Firstly. Well. This sounds slightly bonkers. But honestly, the carrots were probably the best I’ve ever had. Yes, I rate my carrots. The honey glaze was amazing, making them sweet and delicious. So good.

The potatoes were another highlight – SUPER crispy and golden on the outside, going all in with a proper crunch, and majorly soft on the inside.

The only slight letdowns were, unfortunately, the meat and Yorkshire puddings. Both felt a little on the dry side, which was a shame – as texture aside, the meat did taste fresh and flavoursome and I could tell the yorkies would have been delicious if they were a little more moist.

But on the scale of roast dinners I’ve had, this one still does rate highly, and I hope that our slight disappointment was merely the result of a busy day.

You know another dish that just stands up on your table and yells ‘AUTUMN’S HERE, LADS’? Apple pie. Sweet, warming apple pie. And The Alfred Tennyson’s apple pie was absolutely glorious.

Huge portion size, flaky pastry and the crisp taste of properly-cooked apple inside, complemented by pecans and salted caramel. Oh, and with a dollop of dairy vanilla ice cream on top. An absolute star pudding, for sure.

If you’re really not ready to say goodbye to summer (guys, seriously, it’s October…), then the baked lemon cheesecake might just take you back to warmer days. The thick cheesecake topping went down easily, with less of a citrus taste than expected. However, the passion fruit coulis on top gave it that extra sharpness to make a ‘good’ dish into a ‘very good’ one.

Without drinks, the meal came in at around £40 per head. If you’re looking to spend less, though, you could just opt for the roast dinner part, as the portion sizes are generous and filling.

I might have to agree with Hannah, apart from when my mum has cooked them … I don’t think I’ve ever been out for a Sunday roast ever! Yours looks amazing though! I’m a big fan of my vegetables and Yorkshire puddings probably more than the meat haha! So glad to hear they tasted good!